"Director Jiang, can you give me a clear answer about what exactly we're looking for up there?" Guo Xuyang asked.
"Earth's resources are becoming increasingly depleted, and we must prepare for the future. The higher-ups intend for us to find advanced technology or energy sources that can drive our society's development and progress." Jiang Qixin said after a moment of thought.
"Advanced technology? Are you saying we're going to search for extraterrestrial civilizations?" Guo Xuyang asked.
"Yes. But we cannot explicitly tell the team members this. The vast universe harbors countless unknown civilizations; we are but a small world among many. If you discover life from outside worlds, try to bring them back. Research on those beings or technologies will greatly accelerate the progress of our current technological capabilities."
Hearing this, Guo Xuyang's heart stirred. Casa was indeed a life form from another planet. However, its true form was too massive; if it revealed itself, these people would undoubtedly be terrified. And then there was the spaceship he had absorbed into his mind. That spaceship wasn't overly large, but its speed was incomparable to the vessels they normally traveled in. Guo Xuyang recalled Casa mentioning that its home planet had been attacked, and it had fled in haste, eventually arriving on Earth.
"Director Jiang, what should we do if we find such a place?"
"Naturally, we adopt a policy of taking whatever we can. Capturing them would be best, but if that's not feasible, acquiring their equipment would suffice."
"With just a few of us, it's impossible to accomplish that."
"Your mission is to search the universe. As long as you discover a situation, transmit the information back promptly. Once you've found the location and identified extraterrestrial life, your mission will be considered complete."
"So, our task is quite formidable."
"These are matters of chance. Previous teams we sent out also discovered extraterrestrial life. Unfortunately, the other party was too powerful, and we lost many elites."
"There's no way around that. Our technology truly lags far behind that of extraterrestrial civilizations. Otherwise, why would the United States have established Area 51 specifically for such research?"
"The United States' power is also inseparable from research into extraterrestrial technology. They have been dedicated to this research for many years, which is why they possess high-tech capabilities superior to other nations. This is also the original intention behind the 'Interstellar Scavenging' initiative. Previously, we lacked the ability and financial resources to support such actions. Now, with the nation's growing strength, we have the capacity to search for these things in outer space."
"If the mission is solely to search for these extraterrestrial civilizations, you don't need to assign so many people to me. I need to select them myself," Guo Xuyang stated.
"Certainly. How many people do you require? You can directly name who you want."
"Tong Xin and Xu Dahai are enough."
"Two people? Isn't that a bit too few?" Jiang Qixin frowned.
"It's not too few. Too many people won't be of much help."
"Alright. As long as you agree, I will summon these two individuals for you."
"Mm. One more thing: I need assurance for my family's safety."
"That is not a problem. You are contributing to our nation, and the nation will naturally ensure your family's safety."
"Also, I don't intend to travel by spaceship from the base."
"I cannot help you with that. You know, spacecraft can only be launched from specific locations," Jiang Qixin replied.